Toronto Maple Leafs blueliner Morgan Rielly leads all NHL defencemen with 25 points in 20 games to sit in the No. 8 spot in league scoring and because he’s shooting more this season the results are definitely paying off, Mark Masters writes.

At the quarter mark of their season, the Maple Leafs have come mostly as advertised – a fast, young team with high-end offensive skill that’s propelled them to the third-best record in the NHL, but they still have some work to do at home, writes TSN's Kristen Shilton.

On Sunday, Auston Matthews participated in a Leafs practice for the first time since injuring his left shoulder on Oct. 27. However, the star centre wore a red sweater and didn’t take contact or skate on a regular line.

Auston Matthews participated in the Maple Leafs’ practice on Sunday for the first time since injuring his shoulder on Oct. 27, but despite making headway in his recovery, the team’s top centre isn’t confident yet on when exactly he’ll be returning to game action.

Toronto ended its four-game road trip on a high-note Friday night, beating the Anaheim Ducks 2-1 in overtime and sweeping the team's annual California swing for the first time in over two decades. The Leafs now sit atop the NHL standings at 14-6-0.​ TSN's Kristen Shilton has more in her takeaways.

TSN Football Insider Dave Naylor gets you ready for the weekend action with a look at the recent run of dominance by home teams in the division finals and the addition of an extra referee to monitor quarterback hits for the rest of the postseason.